Hear Philly: Competition Brings Fairmount Restaurants Together For Good Cause

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Fairmount has always been known for its fine dining establishments, and on November 19th, those restaurants are joining forces for a friendly food competition.

The event is known as the “Fairmount Food Fight.”

“It’s the largest annual fundraiser for the Fairmount Community Development Corporation,” explains Fairmount CDC Executive Director Kevin Moran. “But it’s also a time for us to highlight all the really great restaurants we have in the greater Art Museum area.”

He says around 20 restaurants will come together inside Girard College’s Founder’s Hall:

“They each provide one or two samples of a signature dish, cocktail, or even desserts, and then the hundreds of folks who attend the event get to vote for their favorites and we crown the food fight champion in those different categories at the end of the night.”

Fairmount Food Fight (Credit: Fairmount CDC)

The restaurants involved, Moran says, are some of Fairmount’s favorites:

“Some of the past winners have been Rembrandt’s restaurant. They won, I think it was last year, for their basil Old-Fashioned, which was delicious. La Calaca Feliz on Fairmount Avenue is also a two or three time winner at this point, they always bring some really great dishes. And Jack’s Firehouse is another staple, they always provide their signature pulled pork and they also have a really delicious butter cake.”

This event has been around for years under many different names, and Moran says they are always trying to change it up:

“This year we’re introducing a new theme where we’re going to be celebrating the Roaring 20’s, just to add a little bit of fun and flair to the event. We’re also bringing in a live jazz musician, so that will make the evening really special as well. And then every year, too, we always offer a really great raffle and silent auction that includes one-of-a-kind experiences in Philadelphia, trips to local and regional destinations, and then also, of course, to some of the cultural attractions in the neighborhood.”

Fairmount Food Fight (Credit: Fairmount CDC)

Moran says the goal of this event is two-fold:

“One is to really draw attention to the restaurants that we have here. It’s a really great scene already, and it’s only getting better. The other main goal is to be a fundraiser for Fairmount CDC. In turn that supports neighborhood beautification projects, community engagement projects, everything that really goes into making Fairmount one of Philadelphia’s premiere residential neighborhoods.”

And Moran says what makes this event exciting is it is entirely locally driven:

“We really take the opportunity to highlight the truly local restaurants who are making our neighborhood known and who are making out neighborhood a great place to live, so you end up with the best of the best dish-wise and you end up with a lot of the community members who know a lot of the restaurants in attendance so it’s a really fun event.”

General admission to the Fairmount Food Fight begins at 6 p-m. Tickets also include complimentary beer and wine.